This week, the New York Times Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow talks to the host Ben Ratliff about Brad Paisley’s controversial new song, “Accidental Racist,” in which the central character — a white southerner — walks into a Starbucks and experiences a moment of clarity, or something like that, regarding the Confederate flag T-shirt he’s wearing. (LL Cool J plays the barista and de facto spirit guide.)
It was quickly and widely understood as a message song gone wrong. As The Times’s critic Jon Caramanica put it, “Mr. Paisley sings from the perspective of a man facing his conscience and his privilege, but only newly understanding that he is in possession of either of those things.” But what’s the value in the song — even if it’s flawed, even if it’s to be understood not as a question but an answer?
After the first backlash, what are the next conversations to have, both about American life in general, and about white southern identity and the persistent meanings of the Confederate flag in particular?
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Jon Caramanica on Brad Paisley’s new album, “Wheelhouse.”
“Room for Debate” discussion on “Accidental Racist.”
SPOTIFY PLAYLISTTracks by artists discussed this week. (Spotify users can also find it here.)